Trying To Fix You
by SimplyFictional
Summary: a story of a girl trying to cope with the death of her brother but how is she supposed to move past it when everyone blames her for his death?
1. Chapter 1

Do you know what the textbook definition of "cяαzу" is? ... вяαιηѕιcк.  
>Yes, that's right, "вяαιηѕιcк".<br>Do you know what the textbook definition of "вяαιηѕιcк" is? ... мιℓєу яαу.

"Miley, look out!"

I awoke with a jolt as the blinding sun shining through the window pierced my eyes. The medic I had come to know as Ms. Gilda, walked towards me with a breakfast tray in hand and that same sympathetic smile I had also come to know so well.  
>She looks over at me with an over exaggerated smile and begins to speak, "good morning, Ms. Ray. I trust you slept well."<br>I sigh lightly and toss the white cotton duvet to the bottom of my bed before slowly sitting up and speaking to Ms. Gilda without bothering to give her a glance, "morning".  
>The medic immediately begins rushing around my room, laying clean sheets in the cupboard and fresh towels in my small bathroom. "I'm sure you're excited about today, Ms. Ray."<br>No matter how much I pleaded with the staff, they never seemed to understand that I hated being called "Ms. Ray". Another thing I hated was today, the day I would be able to leave, the day most people in this place would kill to have. Myself on the other hand, would give anything if it meant I didn't have to go home. Home; the place it all began and the place it all ended...everything good, that is. There was nothing left for me there, everything back home was cold, dark and full of memories that would be better off forgotten. I notice the medic standing beside me, waiting for my answer and I slowly nod, giving her a smile and just hoping she will leave so I could be alone...just like I was destined to be...just like everyone expected me to be after what I did...after taking the life of an innocent soul.


	2. Chapter 2

She's standing in front of the small window in her room, wearing blue jeans and a loose white t-shirt with a blank stare plastered across her face. Just wishing her thoughts were as blank as her look. She can't stop thinking about the past, that's all she has been able to think about since she stepped foot in this asylum. No future existed to her, only the past. She wasn't able to think about tomorrow or the future, all that existed to her was נυℓу 23, 2009.

The male medic steps into Miley's room and lightly taps on her open door, "Ms. Ray? Your ride is here."

She slowly turns around, as if coming out of a trance and gathers her bags, carefully walking to the door. After the medic exits the room, she glances back at the room that was нєя room for the past 15 months one last time before quietly walking out.

She follows the medic to the front desk as he quietly begins talking with the secretary.

Miley walks up behind him and patiently waits for him to finish talking. She was in no hurry to see her family, or what was left of it anyway.

He eventually finishes talking and motions for Miley to follow him into the waiting room.

She follows him into the room she knew all too well, along with all the other rooms in this loony bin.

And there he was, the person she had been missing so much, yet he looked at her as if he was looking at a stranger. The only problem was, he was anything but a stranger to her. He was that part of herself she loved the most. And she always thought she was the part of him he loved the most, now she knew she was the part of him he нαтєd the most.

The man stands up almost immediately when the medic and Miley walk in the room. He stares at a girl with sad eyes; long, stringy brown hair and a scratched face, a girl he used to know so well, a girl that used to be so easy to talk to. He wondered how so much could change in less than two years, how he could go from having a happy and healthy family to having a вяσкєη family barely hanging on.

The medic begins to feel strange standing there in the quiet so he breaks the silence, "Mr. Ray, I assume you have filled out all the proper paper work?"

Mr. Ray nods quickly and tears his eyes away from his daughter to look over at the medic before speaking in a boisterous voice, "Yes, of course."

The medic speaks quickly, hoping to get this over quickly so he can get to lunch. "Excellent."

Mr. Ray takes a moment before looking back at his daughter and nodding towards the exit. "Ready?"

Miley swallows nervously and slowly makes her way to the exit. She had never felt so alone in her life, not even 15 months in that loony bin could make her feel as alone as she felt at this moment. Walking in silence to her father's car, knowing how нυят and dιѕαρρσιηтєd he was, that was the worst kind of ℓσηєℓιηєѕѕ she had ever felt. She didn't think everything would go back to normal, she didn't expect to be ƒσяgινєη, but she didn't expect it to нυят so badly.

He unlocks his car and silently puts Miley's bags in the back of the car before getting into the drivers side.

She sits in the passenger seat of his car and stares straight ahead as he pulls out of the hospitals parking lot and makes his way to the highway.

He glances over at his daughter and tries to speak calmly. "I'm sorry your mother couldn't come, she thought it would be better if she had dinner ready when you got home."

She nods mechanically without even glancing over at him.

He ignores her silence and continues to speak, trying to ease the awkward tension in every inch of the car. "She's making your favorite; spaghetti."

The first conversation with her dad after 15 months and it's about spaghetti. She feels disappointed yet somewhat relieved; the last thing she wants is to discuss how she's feeling or how the tragedy 15 months ago changed her life forever. She doesn't bother responding to her fathers comment; she doesn't even know how to respond. Is she supposed to act normal? Is she supposed to pretend like nothing happened?

He drove the rest of the way home in complete silence, he didn't know how to act any more than Miley did. He wanted to forgive his daughter, he wanted to get their relationship back but he couldn't help feeling ѕαd and αηgяу. He didn't like feeling that way about his daughter but he didn't know how to move past it.

She takes a step inside as her father closes the front door behind her. She feels all the memories flood her head as she looks around the house she left all those months ago.  
>He leaves his daughter to reminisce as he carries her bags up the flight of stairs to her bedroom.<p>

She stands there for a moment feeling an overwhelming amount of nostalgia when she suddenly sees her mother step out of the kitchen. She didn't know what to expect and it тєяяιƒιєd her to think that even her mother may ℓσαтнє нєя νєяу єχιѕтєηcє.


	3. Chapter 3

Mrs. Ray stands there for a moment, admiring her beautiful daughter before covering her mouth as tears fall from her eyes.

Miley watches her mother for a moment, unsure of how to react or the reason behind her tears.

She finally rushes over to her daughter, engulfing her in a tight hug as more tears pour from her eyes. She whispers Miley's name in a hushed tone while hugging her. "My Miley. I missed you so much, honey."

Miley is honestly surprised by her mother sudden affection, she wasn't expecting such a warm welcome from her mother, especially not after the coldness she received from her father. But she wasn't going to complain, that was for sure. She hugged her mother tightly and whispered in her ear. "I missed you too, mom."

Mrs. Ray reluctantly pulls away from her daughter and smiles sweetly, moving a strand of hair from Miley's face. "I made your favorite. Are you hungry?"

She gives a small smile and nods lightly before her mother takes her hand and leads her into the kitchen.

It was the strangest feeling for Miley, being back in this house. It was the same house, but a very different family was inside of it. There was a missing part, a broken girl, a lonely mother, and a confused father. The feeling this house used to give her; нσρє, ѕαƒєту, ℓσνє, all of that was gone now and it would never be the same.

That night she sat on the edge of her bed, looking at all of the pictures on her wall. She couldn't believe that her parents had left them up, considering they did away with all the other pictures in the house. Almost all of them were pictures of the missing part, the missing part no one wanted to discuss. She laid down on her bed and starred at the ceiling for what seemed like hours before she finally fell asleep with tears in her eyes.

The next day she awoke to a bright light in her eyes. She sits up slowly and stretches as she gazes out the window where the sun is shining through. After a few minutes of debating whether she should even get out of bed she eventually decides to venture out of her room and into the living room. She sees her mother sitting in the large chair in the living room with her bulky reading glasses on and her head in a book. Her mother has always been a very intense reader, there was no distracting her when she was focused on a book.

Mrs. Ray eventually notices a shadow fall over her book and looks up to see her daughter walking towards her. She reluctantly removes her glasses and smiles at her daughter. "Hi honey, did you sleep well?"

She nods briefly as Mrs. Ray continues to talk. "Do you want some breakfast?" She puts her book on the coffee table and is about to stand up before Miley stops her by speaking.  
>"No, that's OK. I'm not that hungry just yet."<p>

Ms. Ray nods and looks at her daughter intently for a moment before speaking. "I suppose I should tell you, your first day of school is tomorrow. I made sure all your teachers know your situation and the principal was very understanding. He said you'll have to take some extra classes to make up for what you missed your junior year but most of your classes will be senior classes because of the classes you took while you were away."

She nods while listening attentively and asks a question that has been on her mind for the past few weeks. "What school am I going to?"

She sighs and leans forward, knowing what she's about to say is going to probably upset Miley greatly. "I know it's going to be hard on you, Miley but we really didn't have any other options. You're going to have to go back to Northridge."

Her eyes widen and her heart beats faster as she comes to terms with the fact that the next year of her high school education is going to be torture. How was she supposed to face everyone there? Everyone at that school knew everything about her, the people there were some of her best friends before last summer. Last summer changed everything, including the way everyone looked at her. She was hoping to get away from that for a while, go to a different school, and create a different identity. She knew she couldn't blame her parents, the only other school in her district was an expensive private school and after everything that happened, there was no way her parents could pay for some snooty private school.

She leans forward and puts her hand on Miley's leg, trying to comfort her. "I know it's going to be hard to face everyone, but it's only for the rest of the school year. You'll be fine, I promise." She smiles one last time before walking to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

She sighs and stands up, trying to forget the fact that tomorrow was going to be the worst day in the past week and that was saying a lot.


	4. Chapter 4

She's lying on her bed in silence, starring up at the ceiling as the moon shines a silver light through her bedroom window. She hears her stomach growl and groans with irritation because she didn't even want to eat, she wasn't hungry yet her stomach continued to insist she was. The truth was Miley's appetite hadn't really been anything like it was before last summer. She ate, but she was never really hungry and if she was it was really easy for her to ignore it. Due to her lack of appetite she had lost a lot of weight over the past 15 months. Along with the weight loss, the scratched up face and the change from loud, out going personality to quiet, emotionless attitude; Miley was practically a new person. She felt like she had died and come back in a new body, to a new family and a new state of being. She finally decided she should probably get some food in her system, she may not be hungry but she knew she needed to eat. She sits up out of bed and walks out of her bedroom door when she suddenly hears a door slam and loud voice shouting back and forth. She walks to the staircase and listens to the yelling coming downstairs.

Mrs. Ray yells at Mr. Ray with a saddened yet somehow intimidating voice. "We all need to move on, Billy!"  
>He yells back at his wife with an angry and irritated voice. "I'm doing everything I can! I just can't forget everything that happened!"<br>"God, Billy! You don't have to forget, you just have to forgive your daughter! Remember her?" She lowers and shakes her head as tears stream down her face.

Miley forces back tears as she makes her way back to her room, not able to hear anymore shouting because of something she did. Miley falls asleep that night on an empty stomach after crying for hours.

Morning came all too soon for Miley as she awakes to her mother yelling at her from downstairs to wake up. She slowly stands up and makes her way to her closet and quickly picks out a plain t-shirt and baggy pants. Getting ready for her first day of school used to be fun and important to Miley but now all it seemed like was a chore and the most unimportant thing in her life. She slowly makes her way downstairs after merely running a brush through her hair and putting on absolutely no make up.

Mrs. Ray turns to see her daughter walking down the stairs with a book bag slung over her shoulder and a very unenthusiastic look on her face. She frowns, knowing Miley isn't looking forward to today but tries to smile comfortingly when Miley stands in front of her. "Ready?"

She forces a small smile and walks to the door with her mother following with the car keys. Miley rides to the school with her mother in complete silence besides the sound of the radio in the background. She missed out on all the new songs while she was away and wished she could just sit in the car all day and listen to the radio. She found herself in front of her old school within minutes and couldn't help but feel an overwhelming tightening in her stomach as she looked out the window to her right. She slowly reaches for the door handle and steps out as her mother speaks from behind, "Have a good day, sweety."

She sighs and steps out onto the pavement with her bag in hand and mumbles quietly so her mom can't hear. "Not likely." She closes her door and walks into the school without looking back.

Demi walks down the school hallway with confidence and determination. She was going to get Selena out of her house this weekend, even if it meant dragging her by her long black hair. Her best friend had spent too many nights home alone thinking about the past, the summer of 2009. The summer her best friend lost the love of her life and her best friend. It was time for everyone to move on, including Demi herself. She walks up to Selena's locker and faces her with a large smile. "Selena Marie!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Selena Marie!"

Selena turns to her best friend with an amused smirk. "Demi Devonne!"

Demi stands in front of her with a smile. "This weekend; you, me, the club. What do you say?"

She frowns at the sound of actually doing something this weekend and turns to her friend, pretending to consider it just to make her happy. "Sorry, can't." She turns back to her locker and begins putting up a few books.

She waits for Selena to pull her hand out of her locker then slams her locker shut. "And why not?"

She begins walking down the hall with Demi following and tries to think of a good excuse so Demi will drop the subject. "My, uh, cousin is coming into town." She smiles at Demi, pleased with her quick thinking.

She looks over at Selena not buying her lame excuse. "Since when?"

"Since...yesterday. He called suddenly, out of the blue."

Demi rolls her eyes and interlocks her arms with Selena's as they walk down the hall. "Uh-huh, I'm sure." She smiles over at her friend, planning a major kidnapping Friday night.

Selena smiles at her and shakes her head at Demi's mischievous smile. She glances down at the tile floor before looking up and seeing something that makes her stop dead in her tracks. She sees someone she was hoping to never have to see again, someone that reminded her of the hurt and pain that has followed her every day since July 23 of last year.

Demi looks over at Selena, noticing her sudden stop then turns her head to follow Selena's stare. She is taken back by who she sees, unsure of how to react. She was hoping it was just a dream, maybe if she blinked the person in front of her would go away...it didn't work.

Miley's standing at the end of the hallway facing two people she missed so much, two people who would be happy if they never saw her again. It hurt her to know the pain she caused, she knew this would happen. It's not like she could get through the next year of high school without seeing these people she has known since grade school. Almost all of the people at this school remembered her and the moment she walked through the doors she heard people whispering and bringing up the past rumors. The hardest part was knowing most of the rumors were actually better than the truth, the truth about what she did. She brings herself back to reality and realizes she's standing in the middle of the hallway holding up traffic. She swallows back the guilt rising in her throat and quickly turns around making her way down the hall, away from two big parts of her past.

Selena stands there next to Demi and watches the girl that ruined the only good thing in her life turn and walk in the opposite direction. She just stares and begins to quietly speak to Demi without turning her head. "Please tell me I'm hallucinating."

Demi continues starring after Miley and answers Selena without turning to face her. "Only if you do the same."

Miley continues walking down the hall and lowers her head, she didn't want to take the chance of seeing someone else from her past; but it seemed fate had other plans. She soon collides with a muscular body, making her wish she had kept her head up. "I'm so sorry!" She looks up to see the face of the person she just collided with and all of a sudden she felt a thumping in her chest, it wasn't the same nervous feeling she had all morning...this time it was something entirely different.

He looks down to see a small girl with a pale face and shaking hands. A girl he had seen so many times before but for some reason it was much different now. He didn't see the girl that used to stand so tall and confident, the girl that made him laugh even when he wanted to punch a wall, he saw a scared and broken person standing in front of him and it broke his heart. A small smile forms on Joe's face before he speaks. "Miles?"

She stands in front of him with her mouth slightly open, stating to speak but instead taking a few steps backward before turning and walking hurriedly down the hall without looking back.

He stands there in shock and watches as the terrified girl quickly makes her way down the hall in the opposite direction.

Nick comes out of a classroom and pats his shoulder friendly before standing in front of him with a smile. "Hey man, what's up?" He notices Joe's weird facial expression and waves his hand in front of Joe's face, to get his attention. "What happened, dude? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Joe continues starring down the hall and speaks to Nick without looking at him. "I think I have."

He squints his eyes in confusion and turns to look in the direction Joe's starring.


	6. Chapter 6

Nick walks into the school cafeteria for lunch and sits at his usual table. He sees Joe walk in shortly after him and waves him over. "So, are you going to tell me what ghost you saw earlier?"

Joe's is surprised that Nick hasn't already seen her sometime today but he's also feeling tense about the fact that he's going to have to be the one to tell Nick.  
>Miley was important to Nick and after she left it crushed him. He takes a deep breath before looking up at his face with a serious expression. "Nick, there-" He is interrupted by a shadow across their table and a familiar voice.<p>

"I need to talk to you". Demi looks down at both of the boys, going from one face to the other.

Joe and Nick both look up at Demi with confusion. Nick wonders why Demi was suddenly wanting to make conversation with them, they hadn't talked in over a year and now all of a sudden she wanted to have a chat? He couldn't help but feel like something was seriously wrong. Demi and Joe were both acting strange and he could sense that something was up and he was eager to know exactly what it was.

Demi doesn't wait for either of them to answer she just quickly takes a seat beside Nick and begins to talk. "Have you seen her?"

Nick continues giving Demi a look of confusion while Joe sighs, knowing exactly who she was talking about. Demi hadn't talked to either of them in over a year and the only reason she would is if it had something to do with the past. None of them were really angry with each other or anything but a lot changed after the tragedy, they changed. Their personalities were very different and for a while none of them talked. Selena and Demi were able to finally speak with each other along with Nick and Joe but the girls were never able to mend things with the boys and vice versa. It was a broken friendship and it hurt Joe to know that things were so messed up. That's what happens when people lose someone, they lose a part of themselves as well. He quickly answers Demi's question before Nick can have a chance to respond.

"Yeah, I've seen her."

Nick looks over at Joe, wondering if this is the ghost Joe had seen earlier. "Who?"

Demi looks at Nick with sad eyes, realizing he has no clue.

He realizes her sudden change in expression and looks at her with questioning eyes. "What?"

Joe decides it's time to fill in the gaps and he begins to fill Nick in on their situation. "Nick...she's back."

He scrunches his eyes together in confusion, still not getting what the big news was. He always was the last one to get the joke.

Demi finally interrupts, not able to take the confusion Nick has on his face anymore. "Miley! She's back, Nick."

Nick's expression turns from light hearted to a sudden sadness. It consumes his face and heart as the past comes flooding back to him in one swift sweep. He leans back in his chair and takes in the news. He had so many questions, he wanted to know why she left and where she went. He wanted to know why he wasn't an important reason for her to stay when everything came crumbling down. He was angry at her for leaving and for the hurt she caused but he couldn't help feel a slight glimmer of hope.

Joe becomes concerned by Nick's long stretch of silence and leans across the table to speak to him. "Are you okay?"

He continues starring down at the table and nods softly before looking up at Joe.

Demi interjects once again so she can get back to her table before Selena walks in. "Well, I just thought you guys should know. I don't think Selena's taking it too well, she doesn't really know how to act...neither do I." She looks up from the table where she has had her eyes glued and looks at Joe. "Have you talked to her?"

He shakes his head and looks at her with an unreadable expression. "I just said her name and she practically ran in the other direction."

She sighs and looks back down at the table while shaking her head. She sits there for a few seconds before realizing she needs to get back to her table before Selena comes. She abruptly stands up and looks down at the boys one last time before walking back to her table.

Miley was planning on eating in the lunch room but after consideration she decides against it and begins walking towards the exit. She walks outside and sits at one of the few picnic tables right outside the school, she pulls out her notebook and begins doing homework. Before everything happened last summer one thing Miley was always good at was school. She usually made straight A's and when she made anything less it was a shock to everyone. Now shocking everyone was the one thing she seemed to do best.


	7. Chapter 7

The last school bell rings and Miley maneuvers through the halls of Northridge, desperately looking for the exit. She can hear people whispering and she keeps her head down, trying her best to ignore the hushed voices. She never knew the glowing red light of an exit sign could bring so much relief. She pushes the double doors open in one swift push and begins walking home.  
>She had made it through the whole day without seeing the one person she was hoping and also dreading to see the most.<p>

She was sitting on her couch listening to her mother clinking pots and pans in the kitchen trying to make dinner when she heard the door bell ring.

Mrs. Ray shouts from the kitchen. "Miley sweety, can you get that?"

Miley stands up and walks over to the door, swinging it open to see a familiar face smiling back at her.

Joe stands there for a moment starring back at her before speaking. "Hey."

She just stands in front of him with a blank look on her face, wondering why he would make the effort to see her. Joe was the older one, not literally but it just felt like that. He was always the one that knew what to do, the one that seemed wise but was actually a complete goof. He could always make you laugh but also knew when enough was enough. Joe was her rock.

He ignores her silence and continues to smile, trying to ease the tension. "So...you're back."

She doesn't speak, she just stands there in front of him with that same blank look that she's had one her face for the past fifteen months. She thought it was probably safe to say that at this moment she was fulfilling the label of "crazy" that most people had given her.

Joe gives her a look of confusion, wondering if the tragedy had caused her to go mute. He continues to try and get her to talk by inviting himself in. "Can I...come in?"

Before she can respond she hears the sound of her mother shouting from the kitchen. "Who is it, hun?"

Miley sticks her head back inside for a moment to respond. "Salesperson!"

"Tell them we're not interested!"

Miley turns back to Joe and steps forward, pushing him out of the doorway and closing the door behind her. She speaks quietly with her nerves slightly on edge. "What are you doing here?"

Joe looks at the closed door with confusion then back at Miley, wondering why he wasn't allowed to come inside. "I'm not allowed to see one of my oldest best friends?"

She glances down at her feet with sadness and speaks under her breath. "Why would you want to?"

"Miles..."

She closes her eyes and shakes her head, interrupting him with a harsh tone of voice. "Don't call me that, Joe."

"Miley...you have to let it go...it wasn't your fault."

She looks at him with wide eyes and begins talking to him with intensity as her eyes begin to water and her voice becomes louder. "You don't know anything! It was my fault...ask anyone...it was my fault...everything that happened that night was MY fault!"

He takes a step closer to Miley continuing to shake his head in disbelief.

She takes a steps back and feels her back hit the door. "Don't Joe...just don't" She puts a hand on the door knob behind her and speaks to him seriously before returning back inside. "Don't come back here, Joe...I don't think my parents could handle seeing you." She gives Joe one last sad look before turning and walking into her house.

He watches as Miley shuts the door in his face and stands there for a moment, realizing the guilt she has been carrying around and wishing he could do something to make her see the truth.

Miley's POV:

That night I could see it all again, the flames, I heard the screaming and I could feel the terror, knowing everything good was burning slowly in an overturned car. I woke up in a sweat, it was so real...so familiar and that's what scared me the most. It put me right back to that night, the worst night of my life. I stood up from my bed and began walking to the bathroom. I threw some water on my face to try and calm myself down before finally giving in and just getting in the shower. I stood underneath the cold water and just let in completely take over my body. I wanted everything about the dream to be gone, including the perspiration on my body. I needed to let go...I just didn't know how. The dreams follow me even when the thoughts begin to fade. I stepped out of the shower and walked to the bathroom mirror, wiping off the steam that covered it. I starred at my pale, frightened face for a few seconds before grabbing the bottle of pills next to the sink and taking two. I slipped on a loose t-shirt and lay underneath the covers of my single bed just watching the sky, waiting for the sun to rise.


	8. Chapter 8

Miley's POV:

Three hours later the sun was shining through my window and I was already dressed and ready for school. School was definitely not something I was looking forward too but sitting in this house that holds memories of a past I was trying to forget was out of the question. I sluggishly grabbed my bag off my bed and walked out of my bedroom door and down the stairs. I saw my mother sitting on a chair in the living room looking at her latest subscription of Home & Garden magazine.

Mrs. Ray looks up from her magazine as Miley walks down the stairs. "Good Morning."

"Morning."

She sets her magazine on the table and stands up with a small smile. "Ready for school?"

She nods slowly before giving her mother a confused expression. "I thought dad was driving me to school this morning."

She turns to give her daughter a sympathetic smile. "He had to go into work early."

She nods and follows her mother to the car, knowing that there's probably more to the reason of why her father isn't driving her.

She walked through the school doors seeing an all too familiar sight. Demi and Selena were standing off to the side of the hallway starring back at Miley as if they were starring at a stranger. On the other side of the hall she saw Nick, the one person she was praying she could avoid for the rest of the year but knowing deep down seeing him standing there brought back a wonderful feeling. It brought back memories of a past that haunted her; but a lot of the memories weren't bad...in fact, most of them were so good it hurt just to know that things will never be that way again.

~ 2 Y E A R S A G O ~

Miley bursts through the double doors of Northridge High and immediately spots Nick with his back to her, talking with their friends. She smiles and runs up to him, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck.

Nick smiles as Miley's small arms wrap around his neck and he turns around so that they are face to face before giving her a small kiss on the lips. "Hey Smiley."

Demi crinkles her nose and gives them a disgusted look in response to their public displays of affection. "You guys need to get a room."

Miley rolls her eyes as Nick turns back around to face Joe, Selena and Demi before taking her hand in his. "Hey peeps."

Joe smiles briefly before asking the whereabouts of his best friend. "Where's your bro look alike?"

Miley shrugs and rolls her eyes. "He's probably just making sure his new car doesn't have a shred of imperfection, of course. You know he drove 30 the whole way here! I almost shoved him out the drivers side door and took over!"

"Thank goodness you didn't...we all know how you are behind the wheel." Joe smirks at his small joke pointed towards Miley.

Her mouth drops slightly, appalled by his comment. "Oh come on, I'm not that bad!"

"Miles...you run almost every stop sign and last week you almost wrecked because you thought it was "left on red" instead of "right on red"". Joe snickers and looks at her with intense eyes as Demi, Selena and Nick all laugh at his comment.

Miley releases Nick's hand and hits Joe on the arm with a smirk.

Joe holds up his hands in defense and begins walking backwards. "Hey, don't blame the truthful one." He laughs one last time before exiting the school to find Miley's brother.

Miley rolls her eyes and turns back to Demi, Selena and Nick. "You guys don't think I'm a bad driver, do you?" They all remain quite and focus their attention on anything but her, trying to pretend like they didn't hear here. Her mouth drops as she gives each of them a slight glare. "You guys suck." She turns and begins walking off down the hall.

Nick chuckles and begins following after Miley. "Aw, come on Miles...you're not...that bad..."

Both Selena and Demi continue to laugh at their antics and the truth behind Joe's comments. Selena turns to Demi with a smile while starting to walk backwards. "I'll see you later, Dems."  
>She looks after Selena with disappointment as her hands drop to her side. "You too! Where are you going?"<p>

Selena gives Demi a small smirk that tells her everything she needs to know. Demi nods and rolls her eyes as Selena continues walking down the hall towards the exit. She sighs and mumbles to herself under her breath. "Never mind." She shakes her head and begins walking to her first class. "What a surprise...odd girl out."

~ToBeContinued~


	9. Chapter 9

~ P R E S E N T T I M E ~

She slowly pushes the good memory to the back of her mind when she hears footsteps getting closer from behind. She hears a familiar voice and turns to see Joe smiling back at her. "Hey."

Miley looks at him with a somber expression and speaks softly. "Hi."

He continues smiling at her, hoping that maybe his positive energy will somehow transfer to her because seeing her so distraught was painful. "How are you?"

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Is that a rhetorical question?"

He shrugs and continues smiling at her, hoping to see a sign of the Miley he once knew. "If you want it to be."

She glances over her shoulder to see Nick, Demi and Selena starring at them with curious eyes. She slowly turns back to Joe. "You probably shouldn't be talking to me."

"And why is that?"

She sighs and looks at him with serious eyes, knowing that getting Joe to somehow stop trying to fix her wasn't going to be an easy task. "Joe...it wasn't my choice to come back here and all I want to do is finish up my senior year and leave everything behind. I don't expect you or anyone else to treat me like before. In fact, I don't expect anyone to even acknowledge my existence...and I think things would be better if it was that way." She starts to turn around but instead gets suddenly stopped by a gentle hand on her wrist. She looks back at him with a face full of hurt as he speaks sincerely.

"I don't."

She stares back at him for a moment before speaking softly. "It hurts too much. I can't go back to the way things were...it's not even possible."

"No, it's not, you're right but you need to let go...you need to forgive yourself."

She yanks her arm away from Joe and looks up at him with a serious expression. "Just stop...and stop calling me that." She turns around quickly and begins walking to her first class."

Nick walks up behind Joe after she exits the hallway and stares in the direction she went while talking to Joe. "Is she okay?"

He stares in the direction she left and slowly shakes his head without saying a word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Selena's gathering books from her locker at the end of the school day when Demi walks up and leans against the locker beside her with a less than enthusiastic expression. "Hey."

She continues pulling books from her locker, not bothering to glance in Demi's direction. "Hey."

"How are you?"

She shrugs and continues starring into her locker. "Same as I've been for the past year, Dems."

"Have you talked to her?"

Selena shakes her head while putting some books back into her locker.

She nods briefly before glancing at the ground and speaking at a barely audible level. "Good."

Selena shuts her locker and turns to Demi with confusion and slight anger. "Good?"

She looks up at Selena, slightly surprised by her tone. "Yeah...good."

"Why is that good?"

Demi looks back at Selena with that same confused expression across her face. "Why wouldn't that be good? Do you really want to talk to-" Before she can finish Selena interrupts her with a serious tone of voice.

"-don't Demi."

She stands up straight and looks at Selena in confusion, wondering why she was defending Miley all of a sudden. "What is going on with you, why are you defending her?"

Her tone softens and she glances at the ground for a moment. "I'm not...I'm just thinking about how you're always telling me to move forward and now you want to dwell on the past and the mistake's she has made."

"Selena, those "mistakes" cost you your happiness. It cost all of us our happiness."

She looks at Demi in shock and disbelief before talking rather loudly. "Do you think she's happy? That girl is probably drowning in her own personal hell right now."

"And you aren't? I'm not?"

"We all are Demi!" She lowers her head for a moment before looking up at Demi with watery eyes. " ...That doesn't mean you need to make her life worse." She walks past Demi and pushes open the school double doors, exiting quickly.

Demi sighs and puts her hand on her forehead in frustration and sadness. She begins walking towards the exit as tears well up in her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miley is sitting on the couch with her reading glasses on, trying to finish her physics homework when she hears the doorbell ring. Her parents haven't returned from work yet and she looks over at the door in confusion wondering who it could be. She stands up from her position on the couch and begins walking towards the door, hoping it's not that annoying woman from next door that is always bringing over fruit cakes. She opens the door and sees that same familiar face smiling back at her that just doesn't know when to give up.


	10. Chapter 10

She immediately frowns at him. "Go home, Joe." She begins closing the door in his face but is stopped by his hand against the opposite side of the door.

"Come get some ice cream with me, please."

She gives him a strange expression, surprised by his request. "No, I have homework."

"Miles, you are the smartest person I know, you could do that stuff in your sleep." He smirks and looks at her with pleading eyes.

She sighs and leans against the door frame with a frown before speaking seriously. "I can't."

"Why not?"

She lowers her head for a moment before looking back up at him and speaking softly. "I haven't been to town since I've been back."

He gives her a look of slight confusion, wondering why that would be a problem. "So?"

"People...they talk."

He smirks and decides to make a joke out of her nervousness. "Yeah...especially a certain people named Miley Ray...or at least she used to."

She rolls her eyes, remembering how he always used to tease her. She stares back at him for a moment before speaking. "I'll go get my jacket." She turns and steps back inside the house.

He smiles to himself in victory and does a small fist pump just before she steps back outside with her jacket.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were a lot of things that happened this last week that caused a flood of memories for Miley but nothing evoked more memories than sitting in this car beside Joe.

~ 2 YEARS AGO ~

Joe's sitting in his car outside the school, about to start the engine when he hears someone tapping on the passenger side window. He unlocks the door as Miley opens the door and sits down, closing the door behind her. Joe looks over at her with a raised eyebrow. "Uh...can I help you?"

She buckles her seat belt and speaks without even glancing at him. "I need a ride."

He gives her a scrutinizing look. "Where's you chauffeur?"

She rolls her eyes and crinkles her nose in disgust. "His mouth is being devoured by Selena's at the moment."

Joe makes the same disgusted face and shakes his head quickly before starting the car. "That is so not the thing you want to hear after lunch."

She laughs and begins fiddling with the radio as Joe drives out of the parking lot.

He looks down when Miley changes the station. "Hey! I was listening to that!"

She ignores his protest and continues flipping through the stations. "Your point?"

He swats her hand away from the dial and turns the station back to what it was on.

She reaches over quickly and hits the seek button before he can slap her hand. She looks over at him with a smirk and giggles.

He gives her a playful glare before focusing back on the road. "Just because you are my best friends little twirpy sister does not mean I won't toss you out of this car."

She rolls her eyes with a smile while looking straight ahead. "Puh-lease!" She turns to look at him with a smirk and bats her eyelashes. "You love me and you know it."

Joe he tries to hide his smile but fails miserably. He shakes his head and focuses back on the road. She giggles and goes back to changing the radio station, she expects him to slap her hand but he doesn't.

"No rap." He speaks softly with a small smile before turning back to the road.

~ P R E S E N T T I M E ~

They had been driving for a few minutes when Joe finally decides to break the silence. "So...how are your classes?"

Miley comes out of her memories and glances over at Joe. "Oh...uh, alright, I guess." She looks back over at him, hoping to avoid anymore awkward silence. "Yours?"

"I don't mind the classes, it's the work I have a problem with." He smirks over at her briefly.

She turns back to stare out the windshield with a smile. "Same old Joe."

"Always."

They sit there for a moment before she turns back to him with questioning eyes. "Are we going to Sweet Sarah's?" She asked, referring to the ice cream shop they would always go to.

"Uh, no. That place closed a while ago."

"Oh." She turns back to look out the windshield with saddened eyes. She thinks that's just one more thing that has changed. Sweet Sarah's was the place they all used to hang out in the summer. It was always there, like a security blanket type of place. Something that has always been there and is just assumed that it will always be there. There were a lot of things that used to feel like that, and a lot of things that were never meant to last.

Joe notices her disappointment and tries to lift her mood. "But there's this really great new place on 4th. You're going to love it, they have the best chocolate mint ice cream." He smiles over at Miley, wondering if he was ever going to see that smile he used to admire to much.

She gives Joe a small smile, it felt good to know he still remembered her favorite type of ice cream.


	11. Chapter 11

Joe hands Miley her ice cream cone and pays the lady at the counter before walking over to a table with Miley.

She sits down in front of him. "You didn't have to pay, I had money."

"I know, but I am the one that forced you out of your house at six o'clock at night, I figure I should at least buy your ice cream." He smiles and they both eat a scoop of their ice cream.

She looks up from her ice cream and notices Joe starring back at her with a smile. "What?" She puts a hand to her mouth. "Do I have ice cream on my face?"  
>He continues smiling back at her and shakes his head. "No, it's just good to see the old Smiley."<br>Before she can respond an older woman comes up behind Miley and rests a hand on her shoulder. She begins starring at Miley's face, as if trying to see something that isn't there. "  
>"Miley? Miley Ray?"<p>

She nods her head nervously, she wasn't prepared to face the harsh backlash of her small town.

The woman shakes her head in shame. "How's you family?"

Miley swallows back the fear and begins to speak with a shaky voice. "They're...um...they're alright."

"Well, that's a bit of a surprise seeing as how they've lost so much and how...disappointed they must be." The woman gives Miley a look that makes her lower her head, feeling an overwhelming sense of remorse and shame.

Before anything else can be said, Joe stands up and stares at the woman with intense and fearless eyes. "You know what? Her family is very disappointed, they are disappointed in the local community and the heartless people that assume they know God's great plan and everything in between!"

Miley continues sitting at the table and she looks up at Joe with grateful eyes. She turns her head to see the woman's critical face turn to complete shock as she stands there, taking in every word. She stands there for a moment longer before turning up her nose and walking away without another word.

Joe turns his head and follows the woman with dagger eyes. He turns back to Miley with concern clearly written on his face. "Are you okay?"

She stands up from the table and nods before wiping away a stray tear that had managed to escape. She speaks in a scratchy voice. "Yeah, I'm okay."

He tilts his head to the side, not believing she was anywhere close to okay. "Biggest lie you've ever spoken?"

Miley looks up at him with heavy eyes before speaking quietly. "You have no idea."

He quickly wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her in for a hug. She resists for a split second but it doesn't take long for her arms to wrap around his torso. She hugs him back as if clinging to life itself.

Joe stands there holding Miley for a few minutes before slowly pulling away and looking down at her tear streaked face.

She wipes away her tears with the sleeve of her jacket before speaking. "I should probably be getting home."

Joe nods once and puts his arm around her shoulders, leading her back to the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miley's POV:

Morning had come, only it didn't feel like morning because the outside was darkened by gray skies and rain was pouring down with no end in sight. I stayed in bed, I knew I needed to get up for school...but I just couldn't. I kept thinking about the night before; Joe, the memories, the lady with words like swords. I could hear footsteps making their way up the stairs to my room but I just closed my eyes and waited for more harsh words.

Mrs. Ray slowly pushes open Miley's already slightly open door and knocks gently. "Miley? Are you awake?"

Miley slowly opens her eyes and turns her head to look at her mother. "I'm awake."

"You're going to be late for school if you don't get a move on."

"I don't think I can go today."

"Are you feeling sick?"

"...Yeah."

It wasn't a lie, I really was feeling sick. I was feeling sick because of the memories that would never be forgotten.

Mrs. Ray stands there starring at Miley for a few moments before nodding in understanding. "Okay, well you should get some rest. I need to get to work, are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Call me if you need anything." She forces a small smile before slowly making her way back out of Miley's room and softly closing the door behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe's standing in front of Miley's locker, waiting for her like he has been for the past fifteen minutes. He sighs and leans his back against her locker.

Nick walks up to Joe with a concerned look. "You Okay, dude?"

He turns to Nick and nods unconvincingly. "Yeah, I'm just concerned about Miley."

His eyes widen in concern and he speaks quickly. "Why? Is she Okay?"

"I don't know, I thought I was making progress with her but then last night..."

"What happened last night?"

"Somebody from town...they brought up the accident and Miley couldn't take it. I had to take her home."

Nick gives Joe a look of extreme curiosity and anger. "What were you doing out with Miley?"

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	12. Chapter 12

Joe looks at the ground, sheepishly and slowly begins to answer his question. He could sense Nick's jealousy. "We were...uh, just getting some ice cream."

Nick raises his eyebrow and begins talking with slight irritation. "You took Miley out for ice cream? What is with you trying to mend things with her?"

Joe's eyes widen in shock and disbelief and Nick's anger. "What is with you not mending things with her? You should be the one wanting to mend things with her, wanting to talk to her. Why haven't you talked to her since she came back? Were you really in love with her? Did you care about her at all?"

Nick could feel his face getting redder with every word that came out of Joe's mouth. How could Joe even question his love for Miley? He loved her more than anything, he needed her but she disappeared and it left him broken. "How can you say that I didn't care about her? I loved her with everything I had! She left Joe, she left without a single goodbye or reason why. I can't just forget that."

""Without a reason why?" That girl had every reason in the world to leave this town after what happened that summer! She needs you Nick, she needs all of us...and I think we need her too. I know I do." He stares back at Nick a moment before turning and pushing through the double doors of the school just as the first bell rings.

~ 3 Y E A R S A G O ~

Miley's sitting on a bench in the public park watching as kids run around and enjoying the heat of the sun on her face when she feels two hands covering her eyes from behind.

He leans down and whispers in her ear. "Guess who?"

Miley smiles and answers his question with excitement. "Zac, is that you?" She laughs as Nick removes his hands and sits beside her and looks over at her with wide eyes. "Zac?"

Miley giggles and gently kisses him on the lips. "I'm only kidding, Nicky." She smiles flirtatiously and takes Nick's hands in hers, facing him with a smile. "You know you're the only one for me."

Nick smiles and kisses Miley again before spinning her around on the bench, making their arms cross over her chest as she lays against his chest. He lays his chin on top of her head and smiles contently. "Promise?"

She smiles and kisses his arm softly. "Promise." She closes her eyes while letting the warm sun take over her body.

"Miles?"

She answers him without moving or opening her eyes. "Yeah?"

"I love you."

She smiles and speaks without hesitation. "I love you too."

It was the first time they ever said that to each other with that meaning behind the words. But for some reason it just felt...right. Their relationship felt like a puzzle, everything about it was perfectly designed and it was just meant to fit together. She had no doubt that they were meant to be and neither did he...

~ P R E S E N T ~

Miley's POV:

I awoke with a smile. It was a new thing for me, to wake up with a smile on my face. Normally I was drowning in sweat and crying uncontrollably from the never ending memories that haunted me in my dreams. However, today it was a new kind of peacefulness that surrounded my dreams. A memory of a park and a boy with brown eyes and curly brown hair that I left behind 15 months ago. My thoughts are soon interrupted by a loud thump outside my window and a sudden yelp. I rush to my window and swing it open, starring at the boy hanging from the lattice work outside my window. I stare down at him with wide eyes as he holds on tight, trying to keep from falling. "Nick? What are you doing?"

"Uh, do you think we could discuss this when I'm back on solid ground? It's kind of hard to talk at the moment." He talks with tired breaths and continues trying to pull himself up.

She can't help but smirk and begins to lean out of her window, offering him her hands.

He takes a deep breath before letting go with one hand and putting it in Miley's.

She grabs his hand and waits for him to give her his other hand so she can pull him through the window. "Nick, I'm going to need your other hand."

He looks up at her with slightly worried eyes. "Promise you won't let go?"

She stares down at him a moment, remembering her dream that held a similar promise and a small smile forms on her face. "Promise."

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